As the use of nuclear power plants increases, methods of utilizing or storing the energy generated during off-hours are being studied. Conventional power plants, too, can be operated more efficiently if production is uniform, with the energy generated during off-hours being stored for use during peak hours.
One solution to this problem is to use the heat or electricity to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen can be sold for other uses and the hydrogen can be stored and burned or used in the production of synthetic fuels.
The thermal (i.e., non-electrolytic) processes for decomposing water have many difficulties associated with them which have until now made them unacceptable for commercial operations. Many of the processes requires temperatures too high to be obtained in generating plants. Others have such low thermal efficiency that their cost exceeds the benefit they provide. Some processes involve the use of difficult-to-obtain or expensive, toxic, or corrosive materials which make them impractical.